The psychometric properties of the modified fear of falling avoidance behavior questionnaire in Parkinson's disease and older adults.

Many participants, especially healthy older adults, had low avoidance scores, so the questionnaire may not capture the most homebound patients it would be used to assess. The sample size was planned for the whole group, so the Parkinson's disease and older adult subgroup results should be read cautiously. The sex mix differed between the Parkinson's disease group and the healthy older adult group, which limits generalizability. Only people with Parkinson's disease completed both the original and modified questionnaires, so the comparison of the two versions does not apply to healthy older adults. The study was cross-sectional and did not test whether avoidance behavior caused falls, deconditioning, or mood problems, or whether it predicts future falls. Other common fear-of-falling scales were not compared, so the evidence that the questionnaire measures exactly the same construct as those scales is incomplete.

The authors declared no conflict of interest and said the research received no specific grant from any funding agency.

Do not conclude that the modified questionnaire predicts future falls or that high avoidance scores prove a patient will fall. The study linked questionnaire scores to past falls and current activity, and some fall-related comparisons were not significant.